Black technology: a super empire spanning two worlds

Chapter 336 [A Tremendous Change Is Taking Place in Our Times]

In the following days, Qin Lang took Wan'er to various women's clothing stores, shoe stores, cosmetics stores, etc., and they were all high-end brands.

Qin Lang didn't skimp on his wallet, buying only high-end items. Although he, a grown man, didn't really know much about them, he let Wan'er choose for herself and insisted on buying the best.

So Wan'er started choosing within Qin Lang's requirements, and he just paid for it.

At this moment, the number of viewers in the live stream has reached more than 170 million, with a peak of more than 190 million. Today's popularity is indeed difficult to surpass yesterday's, but the current number is still quite impressive and still overwhelming other individual streamers on the Douyin platform.

In addition to a large number of casual viewers, Qin Lang's live stream also attracted some industry insiders and investors who hadn't received the goods and couldn't examine them in person, so they came to Qin Lang's live stream for a virtual experience.

……

Meanwhile, an investment institution in a certain city.

"Judging from the application scenarios demonstrated by this livestreamer, the 'Flowing Star Language' product can not only make money through hardware, but also has a strong platform-based advertising monetization capability," said an investment research analyst in the conference room.

The video being projected onto the screen of this meeting was Qin Lang's outdoor live stream. He was unaware that he was being watched by many industry insiders and investors who were secretly observing him.

After a moment, the investment analyst added, "Look at the interaction between the streamer and Wan'er. He lets Wan'er choose the products herself, giving the robot such decision-making power. This has the ability to monetize. If my brand spends more money on traffic, the robot can choose my products first."

"Even if users don't hand over decision-making power to the robot, the suggestions and product recommendations given to users by the Liuguang Xingyu robot can still be meaningful. Whoever pays more for advertising to Likang Technology may be given priority in recommendations, and these recommendations will be carefully selected and precisely pushed. The robot can even imitate human coquetry."

Clearly, the product "Flowing Star Language" has strong advertising monetization capabilities. Once sales pick up, it can become a huge platform, just like AI Xiaojing, controlling the entry point for a large number of users to obtain information.

Another attendee said, "This product is operated by Likang Technology, but Zhou Chengyang actually listens to Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu may not monetize through advertising."

The analyst nodded and said, "We can't rule out that possibility, but in any case, having the ability and not using it are two different things. For the capital market, the existence of this expectation, and the fact that it is a very strong positive factor, is enough."

He added, "Therefore, I suggest going long on Likang Technology. Although the stock has increased 137 times this year, with the latest closing price of 445.92 yuan, the corresponding absolute market value is around 2060 billion yuan. I still believe that it is undervalued."

Likang Technology's stock price previously reached a high of 777.77 yuan, corresponding to a market value of over 3600 billion yuan.

A participant nearby said, "The biggest problem for Likang Technology right now is that we still can't determine how much profit the product will generate. 'Flowing Star Language' is indeed a phenomenal bestseller that has sold like hotcakes, but the question is, how much profit can be made at this price? And how much profit will Likang Technology ultimately be able to take home?"

These are the questions that investment institutions in the capital market are most eager to know. Since September, six or seven hundred investment institutions have visited Likang Technology for research, but none of them have learned any important inside information.

Is Liuguang Xingyu selling at a loss or making a profit? If it is profitable, how is the profit shared with Lingjing Technology?

This important information has not been released to the public and will likely be disclosed in the third-quarter financial report.

Ultimately, the investment firm made a strategy and decided to go long on Likang Technology, continuing to increase its holdings on Monday. The firm entered the market in September, and although it had paid attention to the previous surge, it did not understand it and did not rashly intervene.

A portion of the position has already been established this week, with the cost basis around 400 yuan and a floating profit of about 11%.

……

Meanwhile, Qin Lang took his Wan'er shopping for more than two hours and bought a lot of things.

Qin Lang spent a whopping 60,000 to 70,000 yuan on clothes and shoes alone. Adding in necklaces, earrings, and other jewelry, the total cost exceeded 100,000 yuan, or 117,000 yuan to be exact.

"I went on a shopping spree for Wan'er today, spending nearly 12 Da Bu Liu, and buying 10 Liu Guang Xing Yu items. It was really a bit of an addiction..." Qin Lang chatted with the viewers in the live stream after returning home.

"This money is also earned by Wan'er. If it weren't for Wan'er, I wouldn't have become famous overnight. I get a little carried away when I go on a shopping spree, but it's not a big problem. I only spend as much as I can afford and I won't try to impress others by spending beyond my means."

Some other self-media bloggers in the live stream were filled with envy. Judging from the momentum, they must have made a lot of money, otherwise they wouldn't have upgraded their consumption so drastically all at once.

Qin Lang said to the live stream: "It's best if everyone doesn't buy cosmetics. I originally wanted to buy them, but Wan'er explained to me that most cosmetics used by humans are unusable because they can damage the surface of silicone gel or accelerate the aging of the material."

"So I mainly bought clothes, shoes, and jewelry such as necklaces and earrings. I didn't buy any cosmetics. I plan to wait a while before buying any. With the huge sales of 'Flowing Star Language' cosmetics, I think some cosmetic manufacturers might launch exclusive cosmetics for silicone gel."

Unbeknownst to Qin Lang, many executives from various companies were lurking in his livestream room, including the CEO of a cosmetics manufacturer. This CEO had already considered this niche market at the beginning of the month and had started sending people to conduct research two weeks prior.

At this moment, when he saw Qin Lang spending nearly 12 yuan on a robot, and when he saw countless consumers and viewers in the live broadcast room discussing how to dress their cybernetic companions and what clothes and cosmetics to buy, he was also very excited.

Without further hesitation, the CEO finally made up his mind and decisively turned around to convene a meeting of the company's management team.

……

"I've decided to bet on the new track of 'Flowing Star Language' lifelike doll cosmetics. I'm going all in, I'm going all in, and I'm going all in," the CEO declared bluntly at the meeting.

"What?" All the company executives present were taken aback.

Everyone was caught off guard. The boss came up and shouted "All-in!" Is he crazy?

At this moment, the boss looked around at his astonished subordinates and said, "Gentlemen, the times are undergoing earth-shattering changes. In the past, little girls had 'Barbie dolls,' but now countless big boys also have their own 'Barbie dolls,' namely the 'Flowing Star Language' robot beauty, and it's the most cyberpunk-style 'realistic raising' game."

"The big boys are not stingy with their money to pay for this. The money that was originally spent on pursuing the opposite sex will be transferred to Liuguang Xingyu. Perhaps the money that the boys spend on various clothes, accessories and cosmetics can exceed the money spent on buying a Liuguang Xingyu lifelike doll."

"On the first day, we secured over ten million orders, and it's a certainty that total sales will exceed one hundred million. It's only a matter of time before Liuguang Xingyu enters every household and achieves a level of popularity comparable to home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines."

"With such a large scale, the peripheral products surrounding 'Flowing Star Language' will definitely see a surge in value, and there is great potential in the niche market of its exclusive cosmetics."

The CEO became increasingly convinced of his judgment on future trends, firmly believing that this niche market was a huge growth market for the cosmetics industry.

In the cosmetics market, female consumers hold an absolute dominant position. To put it bluntly, this industry mainly makes money off women. However, with the emergence of the Flowing Star Language lifelike doll, this situation has changed.

Men will also buy cosmetics for their cyber-electronic girlfriends. The emergence of Flowing Star Language allows the cosmetics industry to make money from men. Of course, there are cosmetics targeting men now, but the market size is very small. The emergence of Flowing Star Language will make more men spend money to buy cosmetics, not for themselves, but for their cyber-electronic girlfriends.

Most importantly, this will impact the existing structure of the cosmetics market, meaning the overall size of the women's cosmetics market will be under pressure as a result.

Although women are the main buyers in the cosmetics market, the main ones who actually pay for it are not women, but men.

The problem now is that the "Flowing Star Language" doll is selling like hotcakes, with over 1260 million orders placed on the first day. As more and more men spend money on a lifelike doll, it means less money is being spent on women.

Women have strong purchasing power, but their earning capacity is far less than that of men. Without men to open their wallets for them, the women's cosmetics market will inevitably face huge challenges in the future.

Moreover, this trend has been emerging for some time now, namely the accelerated collapse of the so-called "simp economy" and the rise of the "other economy." More and more men are beginning to refuse to be the "big complainer," and some are even choosing not to date at all, either lying down or only pleasing themselves.

The resulting effect is that women's spending power has declined rapidly in recent years, forcing them to downgrade their consumption.

国内一家在A股上市的国产化妆品企业伯莱雅在近三年的业绩就能在一定程度上反映化妆品市场消费降级，该公司最近三年的营收分别是46亿、63亿和89亿，净利润分别是3亿、7亿和9.99亿。

Revenue and profits have both increased year by year, but don't misunderstand, this is not a result of consumption upgrading, but rather the result of women starting to pursue cost-effectiveness when buying cosmetics.

Before the trend of consumption downgrading, women might have used more expensive or well-known foreign brands. However, after the trend of consumption downgrading, they have turned to buying domestic brands. This has led to the year-on-year increase in the performance of cosmetics company Belaiya, which has now become the leader of domestic beauty brands. During this year's 618 shopping festival, it rose to the top spot in the beauty category on platforms such as Tmall and Douyin.

These data already demonstrate that the Liuguang Xingyu lifelike dolls were like this even before their creation, and it goes without saying that they will be even more so after their creation. As more and more men spend money on lifelike dolls, women's spending power will inevitably decline further.

However, the overall output value of the cosmetics market may not shrink, and may even increase, because the "Flowing Star Language" has led men to increase their spending on cosmetics.

With this shift in market dynamics, not only can the decline in the women's cosmetics market be offset, but the overall market size can also increase.

At the meeting, the CEO overruled all objections and made the decisive decision to shift the company's focus entirely to producing cosmetics suitable for the Flowing Star Language lifelike dolls, which are cosmetics suitable for silicone gel surfaces.

……

(End of this chapter)